Batch has big game for Tech in win

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, September 13, 2008

LUBBOCK - If there was any question about Baron Batch being as healthy as he's been since arriving at Texas Tech three years ago, he answered that on Saturday.

The Midland High product and sophomore running back for the No. 12-ranked Red Raiders had his best game in a Tech uniform. He rushed for 98 yard on 10 carries, and added five catches for 71 yards to help Tech to a 43-7 drubbing of SMU in front of a sellout crowd of 53,383 at Jones AT&T Stadium.

"It's great to get out there and get tired and feel what's its like to almost cramp up," Batch said. "There were a couple of plays that could have, should have been a lot longer than they were and that's on me. I think I did OK, but there's a lot of things I need to improve on."

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Batch used size, power and speed to rumble past SMU defenders and showed no ill effects from a serious ankle injury that sidelined him for all of the 2007 season. He alternated with senior Shannon Woods (86 yards rushing, 46 yards receiving) in the backfield to help give the Mustangs another thing to worry about along with quarterback Graham Harrell's 418 yards and five touchdowns on 31-of-48 passing.

"If we're passing and that's working, that's fine with me," Batch said. "But we can also run. We have playmakers at every position. It's just fun to have (head coach Mike Leach) put it on us (running backs) like he did and just give us the opportunities that he did tonight."

Batch, however, was just one of a handful of Red Raiders (3-0) to have a big day against the overmatched Mustangs (1-2). Safety Daniel Charbonnet set a single game school record by snagging three interceptions, and Michael Crabtree added eight catches for 164 yards and three scores.

Apparently Batch was one of the few offensive players Leach was impressed with on Saturday. He emphasized that Harrell and the receiving corps need to cut out the mistakes and inconsistent play or else his team will have a long year.

"I thought the quarterback and receivers were very average," Leach said. "Right now, I think they're holding us back, and I'm right in the middle of that because those are the guys I coach the most.

"As coaches if we coached these guys in such a way that they're on a high horse and they think they don't need to make blue collar plays, we're going to have to change how we coach. I'm not going to tolerate it. If we have to make changes, we'll make them."

It didn't Batch long to make his mark in the game. After a Donnie Corona 35-yard field goal gave Tech a 3-0 lead, Batch broke several tackles at the line of scrimmage for a 43-yard touchdown run with 6:36 remaining in the first quarter for a 9-0 Tech lead.

"(Fullback) Ryan Hale did a great job of looping around and trapping that linebacker like he did," Batch said. "It was a huge hole. If Shannon would have been in there, he would have scored. Really, I contribute that to Ryan Hale."

SMU and quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell didn't help the Mustangs' cause as the true freshman from Katy threw five interceptions. Two of those led directly to Crabtree touchdowns. The sophomore had a 23-yard TD catch late in the first quarter and then added a wide-open 47-yard TD grab to give Tech a 22-0 halftime advantage.

Mitchell ended with a nightmarish game in head coach June Jones' run-and-shoot offense, going 13 for 24 for 155 yards, the five picks and no touchdowns.

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TECH NOTES: Saturday's attendance was the most for a non-conference game in school history. …Tech Chancellor Kent Hance announced at halftime that the university recently received a ,1 million donation from Plains National Bank for the Jones AT&T Stadium eastside expansion project. Hance said with the donation, Tech now has ,20 million of the ,25 million needed for the project, which will begin construction as soon as the season is over and hopefully done by the beginning of the 2009 season. Hance added the expansion, which will add about 10,000 more seats, is to keep up the demand for more suites and seats.